Apple Joins Group Investment in OLED Microdisplay Company eMagin Amid Ongoing AR/VR Efforts [Update: Not True]

Update: EMagin's Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Lucas told Bloomberg that Apple has not invested in the company, despite the document filed with the Securities and Exchange commission.

Emagin listed the companies in the document because it "has had discussions with them at industry events." Lucas says Apple did not actually invest in the company and the filing was misinterpreted.



Apple has joined a group of companies investing in OLED microdisplay maker eMagin, believed to be part of Apple's overall virtual and augmented reality hardware strategy. LG, Valve, Immerex, and Stillwater Holdings have all joined in on the investment with Apple, which is said to be worth up to a total of $10.6 million (via TechCrunch).

eMagin confirmed the investment, stating that it will use the money for "working capital and general corporate purposes." The company created "a new kind of display" to use in VR headsets that allows for sharper images, which it believes will help fuel the "next generation" of AR and VR devices.

emagin apple investment

eMagin’s technology is notable in that it has created a new kind of display that can be used in VR headsets, which provides a sharper image by using a denser layout of lines (versus the pixels commonly used in existing products). This helps reduces the so-called “screen door” effect on the display and makes what you see up close through the headset much sharper.

“We believe that our direct patterning technology is a key differentiator for enabling next generation AR/VR hardware for the consumer and enterprise segments because of the brightness and the pixel density afforded by the technology,” the company notes.

For Apple, the last few years have seen a ramp up in the hiring of talent and acquisitions of companies that all revolve around its AR/VR efforts. Since 2015, Apple has purchased several companies in this area, but some acquisitions date back even further. A few of these AR/VR acquisitions made by Apple include companies like Metaio, Faceshift, Emotient, Flyby Media, RealFace, and VRvana.

Apple has already put the technology behind Faceshift to use with Animoji in iPhone X, but outside of software the company's plans for a hardware product in the AR/VR space remain unclear. Right now, plans for a pair of "smart glasses" or VR headset are believed to be in prototype stages, so if they do ever launch it will still be a few years down the road. More recently, a report suggested that Apple is ramping up development on an AR headset running a new operating system called "rOS."

Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that any AR/VR hardware from Apple is a few years away because "the technology itself doesn't exist to do that in a quality way." At the time, Cook said that one of the biggest challenges for building such an AR headset today would be the display technology required to make it work, suggesting the new eMagin investment could be helping Apple in this area. One of the last major reports regarding Apple's interest in AR hardware was the company's meeting with potential AR glasses suppliers, said to have happened at CES last month.

Related Roundup: Apple Vision Pro
Buyer's Guide: Vision Pro (Neutral)
Related Forum: Apple Vision Pro

Popular Stories

Home Hub Command Center with Dome Base Feature

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Thursday September 25, 2025 1:11 pm PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system codenamed "Charismatic," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple smart home hub concept based on rumors This is likely Apple's long-rumored "homeOS" operating system. In a report last month, Gurman said both Apple's rumored smart home hub in 2026 and tabletop robot in 2027 will run the new operating system. He said the software platform ...
iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iPhone 16 Pro Max 80% Charge Limit: One Year Later, Was It Worth It?

Wednesday September 24, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
With the iPhone 15 series, I did an experiment and kept my iPhone's Charge Limit set at 80 percent for an entire year. It provided an interesting look at the impact of charge limits on battery longevity, so I decided to repeat it for the iPhone 16 line. Since September 2024, my iPhone 16 Pro Max has been limited to an 80 percent charge, with no cheating. As of today, my battery's maximum...
AirPods Pro 3 Newsroom

Apple's 'Back to School' Offer Ends Soon, Now Applies to AirPods Pro 3

Wednesday September 24, 2025 7:20 am PDT by
Apple's annual "Back to School" promotion for students ends soon, so act fast if you want to score free AirPods with the purchase of an eligible new Mac or iPad. Until Tuesday, September 30, college students and qualifying educational staff in the U.S. can receive free AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. This is a $179 value. ...
iOS 26

Apple Continues to Prepare iOS 26.0.1 With Multiple Bug Fixes Expected

Sunday September 28, 2025 1:30 pm PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing information about future iOS versions. The account initially said iOS 26.0.1 would have a build number of 23A350, but they now expect the update to have a build number of 23A355. This suggests that the software update will include more bug fixes or changes than initially...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pro Nears Mass Production, But Four Bigger Upgrades Expected Next Year

Sunday September 28, 2025 2:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next MacBook Pro models will enter mass production soon, according to the latest information shared by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said he continues to believe the new MacBook Pro models will be released at some point between late 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, meaning they should be available to order by March at the latest. Apple often...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

Skipped the iPhone 17 Pro? Here's What is Rumored for iPhone 18 Pro

Tuesday September 23, 2025 8:55 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still a year away, there are already a few rumors about the devices that offer an early look ahead. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. This story was published previously, and it has been updated to reflect the latest rumors. Many early rumors prove to be true, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Apple's...
iphone 17 ceramic shield

Regular iPhone 17's USB-C Charging Speeds Tested With Apple Chargers

Friday September 26, 2025 9:01 am PDT by
The website ChargerLAB has tested the standard iPhone 17 model's USB-C charging speeds with a variety of Apple's chargers, from 18W to 140W. The device reached a peak charging speed of around 27W to 28W with these Apple chargers:29W USB-C Power Adapter 30W USB-C Power Adapter 35W Dual USB-C Port Power Adapter 35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Power Adapter 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max...
Apple More Personal Siri Ad

Apple Responds to U.S. Class Action Lawsuit Over Delayed Siri Features

Friday September 26, 2025 6:57 am PDT by
In March, Apple delayed the launch of its personalized Siri features, and soon after the company was hit with multiple class action lawsuits over the situation. The plaintiffs said they never would have purchased an iPhone 16, or would have paid less, had they known Apple's marketing about the Siri features was false. In the U.S., all of the complaints were consolidated into one class...
maxresdefault

Review: A Week With the iPhone 17 Pro

Friday September 26, 2025 12:51 pm PDT by
Apple's iPhone 17 models have been out for a week now, so we thought we'd do a longer-term review of the flagship iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max now that we've been able to spend more time with them. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera has a Silver iPhone 17 Pro and a Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Pro Max, and despite a lot of concern over...